The streets were completely packed. The entire city buzzed with excitement for the upcoming event.
High above the crowds, on a balcony overlooking the capital, a man in a dark suit bowed, keeping his posture rigid. Known only as the Ripper, he held his position.
"Ma'am Isbell. It's time to announce it."
"Yeah." Isbell turned her gaze over the railing. Her eyes lit up as her special skill triggered. Her voice pushed directly into the minds of everyone in this planet called Reasl. "Listen well. The tournament will begin in a time span of three days. To register, all you have to do is defeat other participants anywhere within this kingdom and take their badges."
The Ripper stepped forward to the balcony edge. Isbell turned her head toward him. "Are the drones all set?"
He gave a firm nod. "Yes. They will allow us to view every single fight."
Down in the crowded streets, Lynx walked without a sound, blending in as a nobody. He wore a black hooded cloak that threw a dark shadow across his face. Its outer surface carried a strange network of glowing gold cracks, looking like shattered glass. Underneath, a dark tunic stayed strapped tight against his chest with criss-crossing leather harnesses and utility belts. With his dark combat trousers, his posture gave off nothing.
{I bought clothes by selling the skins of the beasts I hunted down, and went to a barber, although I told him not to touch my beard he shaved it whole,} Lynx let out a small breath, walking up to the front desk of the massive registration hall right outside the battle arena.
A young woman behind the counter tapped a stack of papers with her pen. "How may I help you, sir?"
"What are the requirements to participate?" Lynx kept his chin down, his voice coming out quiet behind his dark collar.
"Oh, you just need to give us your name so we can give you a registration badge." She offered a polite smile.
She tapped her finger on the desk, checking the text on the rule page. "After that, all you have to do is find opponents who also have badges and fight them. The loser must hand theirs over. The badge requirement to advance will keep getting higher as the available spots become fewer."
Lynx narrowed his eyes under the edge of his hood. "What if they cheat, or run off instead of handing over the badge?"
"Don't worry about that." She shifted her glance toward the wide windows outside. "We have drones that track every single badge. The moment a fight starts, the badges turn red. Drones will immediately fly to your location and act as a fair middleman. If someone tries to run away after losing, their badge will explode, and the winner will automatically be accepted if the staff is satisfied." She pulled a blank tag out from under the counter. "So, what is your name?"
"Lynx Vrren."
While he stood waiting for the tag to print, Lynx pulled more details out of her.
{Basically the tournament would be a team battle, maxing out at four members per team, but one could go solo, duo and trio. After the final round, during the ceremony, the winning team members would have to fight each other. Whoever came out on top would be taken in by the higher authorities as their personal disciple.}
She slid the finished tag across the polished counter. "Here's your badge. My name is Phoenix, by the way. Good luck!"
"Thanks."
Lynx turned and stepped away from the desk. Sweat broke out across his forehead, and he dragged the back of his hand across his brow.
{Why is it so hard to just talk with people?}
He scanned the immediate area for potential targets, but the color of the sky altered without warning. He tilted his head back, watching glowing shapes drop toward the earth like shooting stars.
A sharp voice rang through his mind.
"You all have been summoned from different worlds." The voice pressed through his thoughts. "I know the summoner has already transferred enough information and the ability to understand the language of this world into your minds. You have been blessed with different types of powers. Use them to win this tournament."
Lynx stopped dead in his tracks, his eyes shrinking.
{Why doesn't she just say that to the summoned people? Is it that she can't control her telepathy... or does she want the rest of us to know that this won't be easy?}
He pivoted on his heel and kept moving, measuring his own raw capabilities.
{It doesn't matter. I have created my own fighting style, and I've trained both my Positive and Negative Will to a greater ceiling.}
{I even created a skill of my own that I call 'Imagination into Reality' or in short 'IiR.' It allows me to do anything if I will it.}
A small smirk touched his lips under the hood, but it disappeared just as fast.
{But... it's weak. The skill requires an immense amount of willpower depending on the request. If I ask for anything too crazy, it simply won't work. If it's hard but barely within my limits, using it will leave me completely drained, unable to do something as simple as thinking.}
He let out a flat sigh, his stomach letting out a loud growl. He was starving.
"Let's buy some food first."
...
By midnight, Lynx walked back into the dense forest to figure out a clear plan in quiet isolation. Pushing through the thick trees, he caught a bright light shining deep in the woods.
A cold grin spread across his face. "If it's an opponent, I'll start by taking their badge."
He slipped through the shadows of the tree trunks without making a sound. Reaching the edge of the clearing, he reached out and parted the brush to look.
His eyes went wide.
Slumped against the base of a wide tree, a girl with bright white hair lay covered in cuts and blood, dark crimson trickling down from fresh wounds on her arms. Pinned to her torn shirt was a fresh badge bearing the name: Hayat.
Lynx froze in place.
{It's her, the princess, but how is she here?! This is a completely different world from the one she lived in.}
Without thinking, Lynx stepped straight out of the bushes. Hayat's head snapped up. In one sudden movement, she slipped twin daggers into her grip, holding the blades steady despite her shaking hands.
"Don't come any closer!" She pressed her back hard against the tree bark, her eyes wild with desperation. "I might look weak right now, but I can instantly kill you!"
"Princess?" Lynx let the title slip out, throwing both hands up above his head. {Why does she look about the same age as me? Was I thrown into the past, or does time work differently there and here?}
Hayat stared at him, her grip tightening on the hilts. "Who are you? Wait... you must be one of the assassins they sent to kill me!"
Lynx's mind spun into fast gear.
{Interesting. I think I understand what's going on.}
{From what I remember, she had an older brother who absolutely despised her because she possessed a relic that protected her from everything harmful, which he wanted to steal.}
He glanced down at his own dark gear.
{I can't tell her that I'm Nx. But playing the victim and saying I got kicked into this world would look stupidly suspicious too. My clothes definitely give off the vibe that I'm an assassin.}
He raised his gaze back to her glowing blades.
{She is way stronger than I am right now. She can kill me in one blow. What do I do...?}
Lynx's eyes rolled up, and his body went limp, dropping straight onto the dirt floor.